Hamilton Employment Law

Ed Canning has been practicing exclusively in the areas of employment law and human rights for 23 years in the City of Hamilton, representing both employers and employees. For 20 years, he has been writing a bi-weekly column in The Hamilton Spectator on employment law and human rights issues that are of interest to both employers and employees. In this blog, you can have access to approximately 500 articles on various subject matters ranging from Employment Standards Act issues, wrongful dismissal issues to human rights issues.

Blog Posts

When Mary first got a summer job as a fisheries guardian with her Band Council owned and operated fisheries operation, she was the only female of four guardians. She described the working environment to the Canada Human Rights Tribunal as sexist and chauvinist.

Baxter had been working at a central warehouse for a chain of hardware store for 17 years. He had the unlucky responsibility of supervising the boss’s daughter. He began to notice that he was getting complaints about her behaviour. Apparently she is obsessed with one of her co-workers and would rearrange her work in order to spend time visiting him. People were complaining about blocked aisles in the warehouse as these two stood around chatting. In an effort to deal with the problem, Baxter transferred her to another area where she wouldn’t be working with her boyfriend. Apparently, the boss’s daughter told others she would get even with Baxter for having transferred her and that he would pay for it.

Please remember what you read here today after you’ve had a few drinks at your office Christmas party. It might save you your job. First, just because office Christmas parties take place after hours, it’s still considered to be in the context of your employment and your dirty dancing can lead to no pay cheque. And before you start sending risk� text messages to your colleagues who were at the party on your way home as you are sliding off your seat in the cab, think of Joe’s story.

The Ontario Human Rights Code states that every person has the right to be free from a sexual solicitation from a person who is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to them if the person making the sexual advance knows or ought reasonably to know that it is unwelcome.

She said that shortly after she started working for him in his restaurant he started to show interest in her. She said this was evidenced by the fact that he didn’t charge her and her family for appetizers, drinks or cake when they went to the restaurant to celebrate her sister’s birthday. She said his interest in her was further proven by him talking to her family that day and telling them what a good job she was doing. He said he would love to go to St. Catharines where her parents lived.